THE PERSONAL TOUCH

1949

Visitor Tabs

Description

This film takes a closer look at the canvassing techniques for the Conservative Party following their loss of post-war General Election. The film was produced by British Films for the Conservative and Unionist Films Association.

Foreword: ‘This film was produced before the general Election of February, 1950, and its primary purpose is to teach the technique of canvassing. Although owing to the political situation some sequences inevitably are now dated, these in no way affect the basic lessons the film sets out to teach, which remain valid.

The film begins with some exhortations on the importance of voting, through the radio, on soap boxes, and using load hailers. As the commentary explains that the next election will be won or lost on personal canvassing of the electorate, a woman is shown canvassing at someone’s gate. Firstly a woman Tory canvasser demonstrates the wrong way to approach a voter. A woman answers the door and the canvasser assumes she is a socialist because of the terraced house in which she lives. The woman is angry and says she is fed up with politicians, thus ending the demonstration. The commentator notes that the woman canvasser ‘shows no sincerity, friendliness or knowledge.’ She left no literature, does not mention local activities or provide the candidates name. She made silly jokes and grumbled, making her notes in the presence of the voter.

There are headlines in the newspapers of Attlee’s election success and which show the results of the Labour victory. There are also images of Churchill and workers leaving their factories. Accompanying these scenes is a commentary which praises the work of Socialists and their ability to spread their propaganda amongst working people. The commentary stresses comradeship as a factor, as well as the contracting out clause in trade union legislation and the role of shop stewards. A man argues with others in a pub, and showing the front of a Co-operative House, they comment upon the importance of the Co-ops funding role. But it is stressed that it is the person working on individuals, in the pub, at the bus stop, at the dogs, that really counts. The man arguing in the pub holds up a copy of ‘Keep Left’ to the camera, another pamphlet titled, ‘Production the Bridge to Socialism’ and a Labour Party electioneering leaflet.

Inside the Conservative MP’s office, the party agent speaks directly to the camera and voiceover about electioneering. The agent states that the narrator has failed to mention the Representation of the People Act. He passes over to his Member of Parliament, Mr Speedwell, who explains how this restricts spending on electioneering. The Register of Electors is shown with marks next to each name indicating which way they vote. The agent goes on to explain the role of Tellers at polling stations as well as how canvassers are allocated to specific areas.

In a lecture hall, a woman gives a motivational speech to prospective canvassers. She runs through the three qualities of sincerity, friendliness and knowledge. The film then runs through the materials that each canvasser needs, and the differences between canvassing between and during elections.

A demonstration is given of the different approaches, and canvassers are shown at work while the narrator makes observations. The model canvassers give examples of how to operate for different kinds of voters, and after talking to voters, they each address the camera. A woman canvasser approaches a housewife to join the conservative association. She states, “What with my husband needing a hot dinner when he comes in, I haven't much time.” The interviews reflect the social status of women in post war Britain. Other techniques involve doubtful voters, country voters, non voters and socialist voters.

Next there is a meeting of canvassers who discuss their day’s work. The MP discusses political points raised by the canvassers, and there is a direct plea to camera for more canvassers.

The End

Context

The Personal Touch was one of at least two films on electioneering commissioned by the Conservative and Unionist Party that came out in 1950. The other film was Club Together, which, according to the British Film Institute catalogue, looked at ‘the various roles played by the Conservative Club, particularly at the time of an election’. It might be that both films were intended to go out prior to the forthcoming general election, which came unusually early in February 1950.

Both films were made by British Films Ltd and directed by William Hammond. British Films Ltd – not to be mistaken with another London based company with the same name who specialised in film equipment – were makers of documentary and fiction films, specialising in instructional, training and promotional films, and films for children. British Films Ltd made films for commission from the Government and many private companies, as well as specialist educational films: for example, City Of Ships (1939), a survey of the activities of the Port of London and work in the docks and The First Thing (1941/2) a guide to rudimentary drill and rank recognition in the RAF. They continued filming through the 1970s and early 1980s before eventually winding up.

The director, William Hammond, made many films for several companies beginning in 1927, mostly children’s films, such as the series The Carringford School Mystery in 1958, with perhaps the most famous being The Secret Tunnel (1947) and the romantic comedy The Fool and the Princess in 1948. He wrote and made government documentaries and propaganda films during World War Two out of Merton Park Studios. It was here that the Film Producers Guild operated from, and this may well be where some of this was filmed. Interestingly, the other British Films Ltd., based in Balham, built mobile cinema vans in the 1940s and 1950s ( with full 35mm equipment) that were used by, among others, the Conservative Party.

The YFA holds a companion film to this, Swinton Conservative College, made in 1952. This college – in North Yorkshire, and which run between 1948 and 1980 – may possibly feature in this film as well. Eagle eyed viewers may also spot an actor looking suspiciously like Arthur Lowe, possibly making an early appearance in his career.

In the wake of the heavy, and unanticipated, loss in the 1945 General election – Labour polling 12m votes (48.3%, 319 seats) to the Conservatives (39.8%, 213); a massive reversal – the Conservative Party radically changed their policies and manifesto, and completely re-organised the Party structure. Under the Party management of Lord Woolton the Conservative Party, among other reforms, put the constituency agencies on a more professional basis, improving their standing and pay. In fact the reorganisation put the Conservative Party on a much stronger footing than Labour for some time. Candidates were no longer to be selected on the basis of large subscriptions, and there was greater spending on propaganda and publicity. Also, and this is another part of The Personal Touch, Woolton made an appeal to increase membership. This did significantly rise from around 1 million in 1946, to 2.25 by June 1948. He also wanted to change the name, away from Conservative to Union, but as can be seen in the film, both parts were being used at this time.

Nevertheless, despite electoral reforms – which abolished university seats, and brought in postal votes – and boundary revisions, both sets of changes favouring the Conservative Party, Labour again won the 1950 General Election with an even higher vote of 13.2 million. Yet this still left Labour with an overall majority in the Commons of just six. This made government difficult, and with an accelerating crisis in Korea – and many claim just through running out of steam – a fresh election was called in 1951 which the Conservative Party won with an overall majority of 17 in the Commons. This despite the fact that the Labour Party secured a higher vote than the Conservative Party, and also the highest ever vote recorded for any political party in Britain.

More interestingly, again evidenced in the film, Woolton, in the words of Robert Blake, ‘declared that henceforth, in speech and writing, Conservatives should never use the word ‘Labour’ with its suggestions of honest British toil, but always substitute ‘Socialist’ with its alien, doctrinaire, continental overtones.’ Blake here betrays his own sympathies; but goes on to state that, ‘This practice was dropped in 1959 when some voters were found who believed ‘Labour’ and ‘Socialist’ to be different parties.’ (The Conservative Party from Peel to Thatcher, see References)

Of course, this branding of ‘Socialist’ was made easier by the large scale programme of nationalisation that Labour embarked on after the end of the war. The displaying of the front covers of Labour Party booklets in the film is presumably done as part of this policy. The Labour Party at this time did not themselves hide from this nomenclature: in 1948 publishing ‘Production: the bridge to socialism’. But the use of the Keep Left front cover is somewhat disingenuous, as this pamphlet, published in 1947 by the New Statesman, did not represent mainstream Labour Party policy. Indeed, written by 15 Labour MPs, including Michael Foot, Richard Crossman and Ian Mikardo, it advocated a "third force" foreign policy and even stronger state controls over big business. Just before the 1950 election a more comprehensive follow up was published as a manifesto, Keeping Left.

The policy of labelling the Labour Party socialist must have had some affect as at least one commentator (Kenneth Morgan) has noted that the word wasn’t uttered by the Labour Party leadership during the 1951 election. Yet despite nationalisation being a big issue in the 1951 election, in fact when the Tories came to power they accepted the bulk of what Labour had taken into public ownership, only re-privatising parts of iron and steel in 1953 and parts of road haulage – and even then maintaining much of the existing state controls.

The basic premise of the film is that it was the hard work of Labour Party, ‘socialist’, activists among people in face-to-face situations, extending over many years, that was the main factor in the Conservatives losing the 1945 election. There was clearly much more to it than this, but this film has a very practical purpose: to greatly improve the practice of canvassing. Whatever the merits of this stress on canvassing then, today the real locus of persuasion is seen as being the mass media of TV. In his An Introduction to Political Communication (2003), Brian McNair does not mention canvassing at all. Rather, it is the media and public relations that are seen as the decisive shapers of popular opinion. In practice, canvassing is overwhelmingly focused in marginal seats, and so most people don’t experience it.

However, at the time of writing in the midst of the scandal over MPs expenses in 2009, the tide seems to be turning away from image and spin doctors towards more honesty, straight talking and authenticity. Coincidently, the last MP to be thrown out of the Commons was the Conservative Peter Baker, at 28 the youngest MP, who was elected in the 1950 general election and subsequently jailed for 7 years for fraud and forgery. Although the idea of having to teach a ‘correct’ manner is liable to produce cynicism, it might just well be that face-to-face political engagement is beginning to have a renewed significance.

References

Robert Blake, The Conservative Party from Peel to Thatcher, Fontana Press, London, 1985.

David Childs, Britain since 1945: A political history, Routledge, London, 1997.